This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

DUNEDIN—Less than 24 hours after Jose Bautista delivered a tour de force press briefing in front of the Blue Jays’ spring training clubhouse — saying he had presented his numbers for a contract extension two weeks ago and there would be no negotiations — Rogers ownership seemed to fire back.

TSN’s Rick Westhead, quoting two unnamed sources, reported Tuesday afternoon that the 35-year-old slugger’s salary demand was a five-years extension worth $150 million (U.S.). Immediate reaction on social media was for Bautista to be traded or for the Jays to let him walk. Where does it go from here?

Even prior to getting a reaction from the Jays’ most important player, a club source had quietly suggested that the real number was even higher. But that may, in fact, perhaps be if the extension begins in 2017. Then the total dollar value would be $164 million for the next six seasons.

“That is fictitious,” Bautista said late in the day when asked about the original figures in the leaked demand. However he would not say whether the real number was higher of lower than $150 million, insisting, “I do not want to negotiate through you guys.”

Blue Jays ownership has now found a way to fight back in the court of public opinion and it will be interesting to see where this battle goes from here and how it affects the clubhouse, with Edwin Encarnacion also looking for an extension by opening day. Players in the clubhouse understand Bautista’s importance is more than just when he steps into the batter’s box.

Article Continued Below

It should have been obvious that the relationship between Bautista and the Jays was headed towards an impasse. It turns out the Jays have been sitting on Bautista’s demand for more than two weeks without getting back to his agent Jay Alou. Bautista said Monday that, if club president Mark Shapiro had agreed to his contract demand when they met, he would have signed.

“I know what my value is,” Bautista said. “Baseball has a great way of measuring each player’s value and it’s about how much of that are they willing to share with the player. I understand the business. I don’t believe in the whole budget and payroll. I don’t believe in any of that stuff. I know exactly how baseball works, especially with a team that’s structured the way we are.”

That structure he is referring to is a media conglomerate that uses cross-promotion and the selling of different wireless platforms to access games and game information via four hours of prime-time live sports. Bautista was well-prepared and armed with impressive numbers that include what he cited as an $800-million bump in share value for Rogers Communications that corresponds to the Blue Jays’ stretch run. The figures were released earlier this week. Bautista understands that he is the face of the franchise and that Game 5 home run against the Rangers became his giant exclamation mark.

Earlier Tuesday, GM Ross Atkins addressed the media on the subjects of Bautista’s contract and the failed trade for outfielder Jay Bruce from the Reds for outfielder Michael Saunders. Atkins swears that his office will not be discussing the Bautista contract bid either on or off the record. Less than five hours later came the leaked details of Bautista’s request, presumably from Rogers.

“To me, it’s not a cloud,” Atkins said of the apparent impasse. “We’ve had really clear, effective communications. There’s no ambiguity, so we can focus on playing baseball. Jose feels good about doing that. Relative to a negotiation, it doesn’t need to be public and it won’t be from our end.”

Oops. It was. Not from Atkins office, but possibly from above. If the Jays can not or will not agree to the demands of their middle-of-the-order-but-not-getting-any-younger superstar, then they need to start preparing for a future without Bautista.

That could help explain the attempted acquisition of Bruce from the Reds, who is due $12.5 million in 2016, with a $13-million option for next year. Bruce is a right fielder who would have played left in the absence of Saunders, but his presence in 2016 would have given Atkins and president Mark Shapiro flexibility in dealing with Bautista, allowing them to work a trade at any time with replacement depth coming from Bruce and Dalton Pompey, the speedy Canadian who they expect could become a major-league regular at any time.

If the number being demanded by Bautista is indeed $150 million for five seasons, it should be noted only one position player in history has averaged more than $30 million on a multi-year deal: Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera. Even if you leave this season in the mix, it becomes $27.3 million per year, and only Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez have reached that plateau.

Clearly Bautista is worth more to Rogers and the Jays than to any other franchise, but it looks like he will find that out the hard way.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com